Soils are indispensable for plant growth and herewith for the production of biomass, which can be used as a food supply for humans and animals but also as raw material or energy source.
The cycling of macro- and micronutrients is an essential function of soils. Mineral weathering generates a slow but constant source of elements made available for biochemical cycles.
Globally, there is more carbon in soils than in the atmosphere and the aboveground biomass together.
There are more species living below ground than above. Soils provide the living space for an enormous diversity of organisms, but in turn, are also formed by soil biota.
Depending on soil properties, precipitation water is partitioned into storage, groundwater recharge, evapotranspiration, and surface runoff.